No.035 GFC Analysis of Water-Soluble Polymers with TSKgel PW-type Columns Contents Page 1. Introduction 2. Separation ranges for each grade of TSKgel PW-type column 3. GFC apparatus for water-soluble systems 4. Application of various standard samples 4-1. Standard polyethylene oxide 4-2. Pullulan 4-3. Standard sodium polystyrene sulfonate 5. Application of carboxy methylcellulose, tragacanth gum, gum arabic, polyacrylamide, and polysaccharides (chondroitin, chondroitin sulfate, hyaluronic acid, mannan, and starch) 6. Application of polyvinylpyrrolidone, gelatin, polycations (dimethylamino ethyl methacrylate, chitosan, polyethyleneimine, glycol chitosan) 1 1 2 3 3 3 4 4 7
1. Introduction 2. Separation ranges for each grade of After Tosoh developed GPC packing materials for organic TSKgel PW-type column solvent systems in 1971, we also developed and marketed various packing materials for HPLC, as shown in Table 1. Several years ago, in response to the demands of the time, we developed and began selling TSKgel SW and PW-type columns as GFC packing materials for water-soluble systems. Examples of GFC analysis of water-soluble polymers using TSKgel PW-type columns are introduced in this report. Table 2 shows separation ranges for TSKgel PW-type columns. The G6000PW has the largest pore size and the G3000PW has the smallest. By combining the G6000PW and G3000PW columns, the calibration curves will provide good linearity over a wide range of molecular masses, suitable for analyzing the molecular mass of water-soluble polymers. Table 2 Separation ranges of TSKgel PW-type columns Product name Molecular mass Separation range exclusion limit* TSKgel G6000PW 2 10 4 TSKgel G5000PW 10 6 10 4-7 10 5 TSKgel G4000PW 3 10 5 3 10 3-2 10 5 TSKgel G3000PW 10 5 2 10 2-8 10 4 *Calculated by polyethylene oxide Table 1 TSKgel columns listed by separation mode Chemically bonded silica H type (SVB) Polymers Silica SW type (hydrophilic silica) (GMH: high-temperature ODCB) Hydrophilic silica/ hydrophilic polymers PW type (hydrophilic polymers) Polymers Polymers Hydrophilic silica Hydrophilic polymers Old names shown in parentheses. 1
3. GFC apparatus for water-soluble systems For GFC analysis of water-soluble polymers, a good system is one in which a conventional GFC device is connected to a low-angle laser light-scattering photometer (LALLS) LS-8000 with a built-in differential refractometer (RI-8011), as shown in Figure 1. In GFC for water-soluble systems, unlike organic solvent systems, in addition to the molecular sieving effect, ionic interactions (Fig. 3) and partition/adsorption interactions (Fig. 4) tend to occur between the sample and the gel matrix. Consequently, the GFC chromatogram frequently does not accurately reflect the molecular mass distribution. As a result, addition of an inorganic salt or organic solvent of around 10-20% acetonitrile or methanol to deionized water becomes necessary to prepare the solvent. Selection of the ph of the solvent is also necessary. However, with a GFC-LALLS system, because the molecular mass Mi can be measured at each elution position without the use of a calibration curve, solvent preparation does not have to be such a sensitive and stressful operation. When analyzing water-soluble polymers, because lowering the viscosity of the solvent increases separation, analysis is usually performed at a temperature above room temperature (40-50 C). Figure 1 Flow diagram Figure 2 shows the principle differences between conventional GFC and a GFC-LALLS system in analyzing molecular mass and molecular mass distribution. In conventional GFC, the elution curve of the differential refractometer (RI) is converted to the molecular mass distribution curve using the calibration curve. Figure 3 Ionic interaction Figure 4 Partition/adsorption interaction Figure 2 Comparison of conventional GFC and GFC-LALLS In a GFC-LALLS system, because the RI response is proportional to the concentration C, and the LALLS (LS) response is proportional to the product of the concentration C and the molecular mass M, by dividing the LS response by the RI response, the molecular mass at each elution position can be determined, and a calibration curve becomes unnecessary. 2
4. Application of various standard samples 4-1. Standard polyethylene oxide Figure 5 shows LS and RI chromatograms of a group of polyethylene oxides of narrow molecular mass distribution that were synthesized by anionic polymerization. Note): As polyethylene oxide tends to deteriorate in aqueous solutions, a small amount of ethanol must be added to the solution. 4-2 Pullulan Pullulans with a narrow molecular mass distribution are sold for reference standard of molecular mass measurement. Figure 6 shows LS and RI chromatograms of a group of pullulans. Figure 5 Separation of standard polyethylene oxide Columns: TSKgel G6000PW + G4000PW Solvent: 0.2 mol/l phosphate buffer. (ph 6.9) Flow rate: 0.9 ml/min Figure 6 Separation of pullulans Columns: TSKgel G6000PW + G4000PW Solvent: 0.2 mol/l phosphate buffer. (ph 6.9) Flow rate: 0.9 ml/min 3
4-3. Standard sodium polystyrene sulfonate As a hydrophobic interaction will occur between the sample and the packing material because the sample is aromatic, standard sodium polystyrene sulfonate with a narrow molecular mass distribution were analyzed using a solvent containing 10% added acetonitrile. Figure 7 shows LS and RI chromatograms. 5. Application of carboxy methylcellulose, tragacanth gum, gum arabic, polyacrylamide, and polysaccharides (chondroitin, chondroitin sulfate, hyaluronic acid, mannan, and starch) Chromatograms are shown in Figures 8 through 15. Phosphate buffer (0.1-0.2 mol/l) (ph 7.0) was primarily used for the solvent. These solvent conditions can also be used for analyzing polyanions in polyelectrolytes. Figure 7 Separation of standard sodium polystyrene sulfonate Columns: TSKgel G6000PW + G3000PW Solvent: 10% CH 3 CN/0.2 mol/l phosphate buffer. (ph 6.9) Flow rate: 0.6 ml/min Figure 8 Separation of carboxymethyl cellulose Solvent: 0.1 M P.B. (ph 6.8) 4
1. Tragacanth gum 2. Gum arabic 1. Chondroitin 2. Chondroitin sulfate 3. Alginic acid Figure 9 Separation of tragacanth gum and gum arabic Solvent: 0.1 mol/l phosphate buffer (ph 6.8) Figure 11 Separation of polysaccharides Solvent: 0.2 mol/l phosphate buffer. (ph 6.8) 1. Chondroitin 2. Chondroitin sulfate 3. Alginic acid 4. Polyethylene oxide SE30 Figure 10 Separation of polyacrylamides Columns: TSKgel G6000PW + G3000PW Solvent: 0.1 mol/l phosphate buffer (ph 6.8) Figure 12 Separation of polysaccharides Column: TSKgel G4000PW 7.5 mm I.D. 60 cm Solvent: 0.2 mol/l phosphate buffer. (ph 6.8) Flow rate: 0.7 ml/min 5
1. Hyaluronic acid 2. Hyaluronic acid 3. Polyethylene oxide SE30 Figure 15 Separation of starch Solvent: 0.2 mol/l phosphate buffer. (ph 6.9) Flow rate: 0.8 ml/min Figure 13 Separation of hyaluronic acid Columns: TSKgel G6000PW + G4000PW Solvent: 0.2 mol/l NaCl Flow rate: 0.9 ml/min Figure 14 Separation of mannan Solvent: 0.2 mol/l phosphate buffer. (ph 6.8) Flow rate: 0.5 ml/min 6
6. Application of polyvinylpyrrolidone, gelatin, polycations (dimethylamino ethyl methacrylate, chitosan, polyethyleneimine, glycol chitosan) For the above water-soluble polymers, the composition of the solvent must be rigorously tested, both experimentally and theoretically. For polyvinylpyrrolidone, 20% methanol must be added to an aqueous solution with a certain salt concentration. Caution is required with gelatin, as the elution behavior varies depending on sample and ph. As trace amounts of carboxyl groups are present in the gel matrix, when analyzing polycations, the solvent must be acidic and to increase its salt concentration in order to prevent disassociation. Application are shown in Figures 16-23. Be aware that adsorption is very likely to occur with polyanionic samples if a column used to analyze polycationic samples is then used to analyze polyanionic samples. Figure 17 Separation of polyvinylpyrrolidone Solvent: 20% CH 3 OH/0.1 mol/l CH 3 COONa Figure 18 Separation of gelatin Figure 16 Separation of polyvinylpyrrolidone Columns: TSKgel G6000PW + G4000PW Solvent: 0.2 mol/l phosphate buffer. Temperature: R.T. 7
1. Dimethylamino ethyl methacrylate 2. Chitosan 3. Polyethyleneimine Figure 19 Separation of gelatin Columns: TSKgel G6000PW + G3000PW Solvent: 0.2 mol/l phosphate buffer. (ph 6.9) Figure 21 Separation of polycations Columns: TSKgel G6000PW + G3000PW Solvent: 0.5 mol/l CH 3 COOH + 0.5 mol/l CH 3 COONa Figure 20 Separation of gelatin Columns: TSKgel G6000PW + G3000PW Solvent: 0.2 mol/l phosphate buffer. (ph 4.5) Figure 22 Separation of glycol chitosan Solvent: 0.1 mol/l TEA* + Conc. H 3 PO 4 (ph 2.9) Flow rate: 0.7 ml/min (TEA*: triethanolamine) 8
Figure 23 Separation of glycol chitosan Solvent: 0.5 mol/l CH 3 COOH + 0.3 mol/l Na 2 SO 4 Flow rate: 0.7 ml/min 9